The first thing to do if you are suffering from lumps on your anus is to consult your family physician. Whether or not you are suffering from piles can only be diagnosed by a doctor who has had a chance to physically examine you. In any case, there are certain symptoms of piles that are quite common. They are listed here and you can see if you are suffering from any of them. The first thing is that when a patient is suffering from piles, there can be open wounds in the anal area. These can also sometimes bleed significantly while passing stools. The natural reaction of the body would be to block the passage of the stools, so the patient would probably end up straining a lot. This can actually cause ruptured nerve endings along the opening of the anus. More commonly known as hemorrhoids, these are particularly painful and quite invisible to the naked eye, as they are internal lacerations. But they can be easily felt, as they swell up into small sized nodules. The most annoying part of having hemorrhoids is that the patient can keep feeling that there is a globular presence – or even many – of some sort, but actually there is nothing. These are also accompanied with intense pain, which can manifest even while passing gas.
If you find that your symptoms match most of the ones presented here, you will be able to determine if you have piles or not. In any case, you are better off taking some measures that will not aggravate your condition. To start with, stop using toilet paper to clean yourself after a bowel movement. Try and use water instead. Toilet paper is rough and tends to leave behind lint, not to mention that the dry pressure you may apply can only make your condition worse. Pat dry, but do not rub. You should also increase the amount of fiber you take in your diet. This will be very helpful in giving you smooth bowel movements. Hard stools can not only cause but can also aggravate piles or other problems in the anal area. If possible, try to take a couple of tablespoons of psyllium husk each night before bedtime. It is preferable to chase this down with milk. Milk is a mild laxative and will be very useful. You should do this for at least a week to give the boils enough time to heal.